I love using books to practice developing phonemic and phonological awareness skills. These books provide fun and engaging listening practice in the form of an entertaining read aloud!
There are so many great opportunities to practice phoneme recognition skills during the school day, but we often overlook them because we’re focused on other things.
You are reading: Phonemic awareness books kindergarten
You can use most books to practice a phonemic recognition skill or two, but some are perfect for adding that teachable moment to your day. 👩🏽🏫
These phonemic awareness books are fun to read and engaging for your students! I’ve listed the skills I practice when we read them in my bedroom, but many of them lend themselves to more than one type of practice.
Have fun reading them and take advantage of all those practice opportunities! #double duty
10 Engaging Phonemic Awareness Books Your Students Will Love
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Do you know the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness? I used these terms interchangeably for years, but they’re actually quite different. Read this post to learn the difference phonological awareness VS phonemic awareness.
phonological awareness books
Since phonological awareness and phonemic awareness activities build on each other, I like to practice some phonological awareness skills first.
Even if some of your children have mastered hearing and manipulating words, syllables, onset, and rhyme, it never hurts to use these phonological awareness books for extra practice!
sound discrimination
lots of wonderful monsters
wonderful monsters love to show off their skills in a fun talent show. For example, Purple Pete wears a plaid sweater and puts on a puppet show.
Kids will love hearing the silly alliteration in this book! they practice sound discrimination while listening to the special starting sound of each monster.
fox in socks
See Also: 17 Ways To Find Good Books To Read – Cushing-Malloy
It is also important for readers to practice discriminating sounds at the ends of words. fox in socks is the perfect book to practice discriminating sounds at the ends of words.
Children are captivated by the fun story and will get plenty of practice with this classic dr. seuss book
warning: these tongue twisters are not a joke! get ready for lots of laughs as you read them! ☺️
rhyme
sheep in a jeep
These sheep in a jeep get into some serious (muddy) trouble while traveling. Simple rhymes end each page in a pattern that is easy for students to anticipate.
This beloved book is a great choice for rhyming practice because the story is engaging and listeners can easily complete the rhymes.
is your mom a llama?
In this classic book, a baby llama walks around asking other animals about their moms. Each page has a riddle that leads to the baby animal’s name. the puzzles are rhythmic and include wonderful vocabulary as well.
Children love to “guess” the animal by completing the rhyme. there are some tricky ones in there that make it more fun!
don’t be silly, ma’am. milli
mrs. millie always mixes things up. blends similar-sounding words by changing the sounds. it’s easy to figure out what he’s really trying to say if you can find the rhyme.
Children love trying to figure out what word you are trying to say. there is a lot of phoneme and syllable manipulation in this book which makes it perfect for practicing phonemic awareness skills as well.
note: this is a complete series, so if your kids can’t get enough of the silly mrs. Millie, don’t worry! there are more books! 👏
syllables
the word collector
some people collect stamps, but jerome collects words. she likes all kinds: short, sweet words, two-syllable treats, and multi-syllable words that sound like songs. That’s why I love using this book to practice syllables.
We can categorize jerome’s favorite words by the number of syllables and make our own list of favorite words we’ve collected too!
tanka, tanka, skunk
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This fun (and silly!) book is perfect for practicing syllables. tells the children to keep the beat as they listen to the different words in the book. there are all kinds of animal sounds to practice. they will love counting the syllables.
The fun pacing of this book will have kids begging to hear it over and over again. (I can tell you from experience. 😉) You probably won’t mind reading it either, because it’s great practice!
phonemic awareness books
phoneme manipulation
snotty rabbit
this billy sook… I mean, a silly book changes all kinds of sounds. shel silverstein uses common phrases and changes initial phonemes and syllables.
Children will have fun catching the mix-ups and correcting them. they may also enjoy watching you read it. it can be super complicated to pronounce all the words! 😂
the hungry thing
hungry is… you guessed it! hungry! he points to a sign that says “feed me” and asks for shmanckases, but no one knows exactly what they are. a little boy notices. he wants pancakes!
Kids will love telling you what hungry thing they want to eat next as they practice changing the phonics of the word. It’s a win-win!
I like to extend this activity with a turn and talk activity. I ask the children to change their favorite food for the word “hungry thing”. this also gives them a chance to practice changing phonemes on their own!
rooster-a-doodle-moo
One day, a rooster on a farm wakes up with laryngitis. he needs to find someone else to wake up the farm. he asks the cow for help. The cow tries to say cock-a-doodle-doo correctly but she really has trouble with those phonemes!
This adorable book follows the cow as she changes phonemes in that tricky phrase. kids have fun changing them to help the cow wake up to the farm in the morning. 🐄
These phonemic awareness books aren’t just my favorites. They are also my students’ favorite books! they love engaging stories, fun pacing, and questions and answers. I love that they like the books and that we are practicing more on such important skills. you just can’t go wrong with these read alouds!
what other books are perfect for teaching phonemic and phonological awareness? let me know below! 👇
If you’re looking for more opportunities to practice phonemic awareness, check out these great phonemic awareness videos!
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